Res publica restituta? Perceiving emperors in fourteenth-century Rome

Abstract

Three emperors were crowned in Rome, while the pope was residing in Avignon: Henry VII (1312), Louis IV (1328) and Charles IV (1355). This contribution suggests that these emperors did not simply enter into an insurmountable “conflict of Empire and city-state”. Many Italians perceived the transalpine rulers as carriers of justice and order. Instead of criticizing the idea of empire, fourteenth-century (proto-)humanists reinforced the imperial myth by applying a classical language to discuss the contemporary Holy Roman Emperors. With their imperial histories, authors such as Albertino Mussato and Ferreto de’ Ferreti wanted to imitate the ancients. As a consequence, they focused on the triumphal aspects of the imperial coronations. Not the coronation in Saint Peter’s Basilica but the adventus into the city and the interaction with the SPQR drew special interest. Because of the papal absence, Henry VII and the excommunicated Louis the Bavarian could indeed act independently in the Eternal City. They both gathered assemblies with the SPQR on the Capitoline Hill. Charles IV, however, kept his promise to the pope and stayed only one day in Rome for his coronation in 1355. The letters of Francesco Petrarch and Niccolo Beccari nevertheless provided him with a classical discourse that could have supported his claims of independence vis-a-vis the pope. The Holy Roman Emperors were presented as the restorers of the res publica. It seems that the imperial presence in a popeless Rome increased the awareness of (and interest in) the city’s ancient past.